Cuban exiles convene as Castro era comes to end

MIAMI -- For years, the members of one of the first militant group of Cuban exiles plotted, trained and carried out raids to try to overthrow Fidel Castro.

Age and illness have finally accomplished what their tactics could not.

Now, the remaining members of Alpha 66 plan to convene this weekend near Los Angeles and plot out a new strategy for the post-Castro era.

Founded in 1961, members of Alpha 66 conducted frequent raids in Cuba that drew the ire of Castro's government, which managed to stymie their counterrevolution.

Members continued to train into their middle-ages, using the Everglades as testing grounds in the 1980s. The group is named in recognition of its 66 founding members.

Those who remain are now looking to a new generation to carry on their cause namely dissidents within Cuba.

Alpha 66 Secretary General Ernesto Diaz Rodriguez said the group's Seventh National Congress, to be held in Torrance, Calif., will include a call for unity with dissidents.

Experts say Alpha 66's recognition of the importance of dissidents is part of a long-trend of courting those who remain in Cuba and don't support Castro.

"The center of gravity of exile politics is now linked intimately with the opposition and with the emergence of a civil society on the island," said Damian Fernandez, vice provost of Florida International University and director of the school's Cuban Research Institute.

But the outreach may be a bit too late.

"I think that they have really missed a 20-year window, where the relationships could have been built and would have been very important," said Maria de los Angeles Torres, director of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Plenty of other groups, including writers, young bureaucrats and hip-hop artists already have a connection with the dissident community, she said.

But Alpha 66 members believe they can still make an impact.

"We serve as the voice of those who cannot speak inside Cuba," said Alpha 66 culture secretary Sara Martinez Castro.